My link was not good for others ,a mental lapse, but for somewhat better batteries and a whole watt more power the FT-818 ,at a couple of hundred dollars more than the FT-817 is not so much a bargain. I have owned TWO FT-817's and they are an impressive radio that,on internal batteries,gives you about 2 1/2 watts out for a couple of hours before needing recharge ( a charge cycle ...within the radio) and only 5 watts with external power. It is FUN to use QRP...like riding a bicycle compared to a motorcycle...sometimes minimal is fun. As a second ,or better third radio,the QRP rigs are fun and promote operator skill enhancement.

a Great Point that needs repeating (again and again). I had the 'Cadillac' here for 3 months and Never Once scored a contact when using it.

over that time I learned that SSB QRP isn't for me (not that I ever imagined it would be).

*Cadillac = KX2

QRP,under the best of conditions,requires an EDGE ,like CW or FT8 ...or it's signal just drifts in the wind of propagation to hopefully land a readable signal on someone's antenna....at the whims of propagation....even 100 watts is often not enough to work without the better days of propagation and luck. Soon,maybe 5 years or so,conditions will allow QRP to be fun again....until then,they make great receivers....especially the impressive KX2.

When compared to the other offerings ,in it's price range,the 817/818 is hard to beat for the minimalist operator.

I would ,and HAVE,suggest to Yaesu that they make the radio power to allow 1 to 20-25 watts,an internal antenna tuner,and an external LITHIUM or NiMh or 12 volt Wet cell battery pack to allow use of the radio while charging the battery with an external charger/auto adapter/solar/or rat in a wheel generator(a hand crank would just be silly) Will the 'dream radio' come to be???

When compared to the other offerings ,in it's price range,the 817/818 is hard to beat for the minimalist operator.

Indeed it is. I'm thinking that Yaesu is either (a) going to release something completely and radically new (and those "818"s shown on Universal and GigaParts are misdirection marketing) or (b) they're just going to release a warmed-over 817.

The current 817's been selling like gangbusters for years now, and while everybody says it's due for a refresh, it's still the low-cost Swiss army knife option. Other than the clunky UI and a slight weight problem, everything else that people want to change about the 817 is available from third parties. Maybe Yaesu is going with "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"?

Indeed it is. I'm thinking that Yaesu is either (a) going to release something completely and radically new (and those "818"s shown on Universal and GigaParts are misdirection marketing) or (b) they're just going to release a warmed-over 817.

The current 817's been selling like gangbusters for years now, and while everybody says it's due for a refresh, it's still the low-cost Swiss army knife option. Other than the clunky UI and a slight weight problem, everything else that people want to change about the 817 is available from third parties. Maybe Yaesu is going with "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"?

There is little innovation in the ham world from the Big3, it took ICOM taking an SDR and putting knobs on it to get the masses excited a few years back. Kenwood picked (a loosing side) with DStar in a HT and it seems to offer some limited functionality. So I'm not sure why we'd expect Yaesu to do much more than a little tweak here or there.

George made a great point in the 2017 shopping show....by the time one outfits a New 817 as most do, they've invested near or the same $$ that will buy a (better performing) KX2.

The biggest winners in this will be those who find Great Deals on the Proven 817 on the Used Swap sites as owners drop to snag the Newest version of the same radio (you know those guys, right). And honestly that may be a good thing to look towards if you're interested in portable QRP

George made a great point in the 2017 shopping show....by the time one outfits a New 817 as most do, they've invested near or the same $$ that will buy a (better performing) KX2.

But you just said you were unable to make QSOs with the KX2?

As we accumulate time with any hobby, in addition to experience, we also accumulate accessories. If someone gives me a new HF or dual band mobile radio, I already have various means of power and antennas. I even have a small collection of hand mics that might work.

If Santa Claus left an FT-817/818 on my door step, I might get a QRP antenna tuner.

When we were new to the hobby and started looking and shiny radio ads in QST, I'm sure some old guys were shaking their heads in dismay then too.I've only been in this hobby a few years, but it seems every new radio is met with complaints.

I think the value over the previous model is a fair point, but suppose that price premium got within $100. This may be a better FT-817, but it's just too expensive at the moment to justify the "better" parts.

Grumpy old Hams get to tell it in our grumpy way...I remember when you were the NEW GUY smurf...you have done well.The last thing a new Ham deserves is the FRUSTRATION of no one answering his call from his new toy radio.

Grumpy old Hams get to tell it in our grumpy way...I remember when you were the NEW GUY smurf...you have done well.The last thing a new Ham deserves is the FRUSTRATION of no one answering his call from his new toy radio.

Many hobbies and activities have the same problem. While I continue to advocate skill over gear, cool new gear has a place.

A new piece of sports equipment might inspire a person to get out and play.A new power tool might motivate you to finish some project around the house.

If it takes some gimmicky radio feature to get or keep someone on the air, I suppose I need to accept that.Otherwise there won't be people to talk back to ME

I think the value over the previous model is a fair point, but suppose that price premium got within $100. This may be a better FT-817, but it's just too expensive at the moment to justify the "better" parts.

Also the actual selling prices tend to plummet once the shiny is off the new release. I expect that in a year or so we'll see these selling for about what the 817 was pulling before this 818 hoopla started up.

OK, I'm just gonna say it. I predict that after this couple of months of pranking us around with this lame-beyond-crutches 818 business, Yaesu is going to release an astonishing new QRP rig on 1 April. Everybody gets a good laugh (and a sigh of relief), Yaesu gets a bunch of free publicity and "good" notoriety, and the FT-817 fans line up to buy the new radios – because they really are that much better.